THIRTY.
Tobias
——————————
What else do you need?
I lean against the side of my truck, arms crossed tight over my chest, eyes locked on Ever and Mr. Jenkins sitting on the bench under the big oak tree.
I hate that he showed up here. Ever has been gaining confidence with the ranch, learning the routines, starting to talk about next season like she plans to be here for it.
And now he’s back, doing what he always does—pushing, pressing, trying to convince her this place isn’t hers to keep.
I know how he operates. After Ray died, he started showing up every few months to talk to Linda about selling, putting the ranch up for auction, or bringing one of his “friends” around to look at it without asking permission first.
Linda always said no. She wasn’t ready to let go, she told him.
She planned to keep it running. But he never stopped lingering.
It looks like nothing has changed with Ever.
She’s younger, less experienced in his eyes.
He probably thinks persistence will wear her down, or that a high enough number will eventually tip the scale.
Land prices around here keep climbing, especially for a spread like this one—good soil, water access, established infrastructure.
She could walk away with a few million easy.
Enough to buy something nice in Chicago, start over somewhere that doesn’t require early mornings or sore muscles or worrying about winter feed.
And I’d be left standing right here, watching a person I care about drive away.
“What do you think he’s saying to her?” Jesse asks. He leans against the truck beside me, arms crossed the same way mine are.
I chew the inside of my lip. “Probably laying an offer on the table. They’ve been talking a long time.”
He sighs. “You think she’d consider it?”
“Anyone would be dumb not to consider a million-dollar offer,” I say flatly.
Jesse nods, but he’s careful with his next words. “I know you don’t want her to go, but it would really suck if someone else took over.”
We stand in silence after that, watching them from across the yard. The conversation drags on. Then Ever’s eyes flick up and find mine across the distance. Something in her expression shifts—relief, maybe, or just a signal that she’s ready for an out.
“You gonna go save her, or what?” Jesse asks quietly.
I push off the truck without answering and start walking. Ever’s gaze moves back to Mr. Jenkins as I approach, but I can feel her awareness of me. When I reach them I stop close, towering over the bench, staring down at the man who keeps trying to tear everything apart.
“I need you to come check something out,” I say to Ever. She stands slowly, brushing her hands down the front of her jeans.
“We’ll have to pick this conversation up another time, Mr. Jenkins,” she says, polite but firm. I keep my glare fixed on him as he rises too.
“Yes, we most certainly will,” he answers. Then he turns to me. “Mr. Brookes. Good to see you as always. The ranch seems to be doing well lately.”
“It is,” I say, voice flat.
He nods once, then looks back at Ever. “Consider what I have to offer. I’ll be waiting for your response, but take your time.”
Ever gives a small nod but doesn’t speak. He turns and walks toward his truck parked near the house.
I place my hand on the small of her back. “Come on.”
She falls into step beside me, but her shoulders are tense, eyes fixed on the ground. We walk past the barn and out toward the open fields in silence. After a few minutes I stop and turn to face her. She crosses her arms lightly over her chest, still looking down.
I hate how defeated she looks, how heavy that conversation left her. I’d give anything to lift that weight, to fix it so she doesn’t have to carry it. But there’s nothing I can say that will make Mr. Jenkins disappear or make the offer less real.
“I’m guessing someone’s offering you a lot of money,” I say quietly. She pulls in a deep breath and lets it out in a long, heavy exhale.
“It’s not just the money they’re offering,” she says.
She looks up now, but her eyes don’t land on me.
They drift past, toward the fields, the distant mountains, the wide stretch of land and sky beyond.
“If they have the money to buy the land, the house, the animals, imagine what they have to fix everything up. To provide for the animals properly. What this ranch could be if someone who actually knew what they were doing took over.”
I swallow. “Ranching won’t make you rich, but if it makes you happy doing it, you’re rich in life.”
She glares at me, hard. “That sounds like something someone on social media would post trying to be inspirational and motivational.”
“I am trying to be inspirational and motivational,” I say. She rolls her eyes, but the gesture is softer this time. “And it is true. You think I would do all this every day for fifteen years if it didn’t make me happy? I have everything I need.”
“Everything you need,” she repeats quietly. Her gaze flicks away fast.
I realize my mistake the second the words leave my mouth. I’m not sure she’s counting herself in that “everything.” I should have worded it better, made it clear she’s part of the ranch—what keeps me here.
“This ranch is already perfect,” I try again. “The animals are happy, we turn enough profit to cover expenses, and everyone who works here is content. I’d call that a success.”
I can see her mind closing off. Whatever Mr. Jenkins said has burrowed in deep this time.
I step in front of her, trying to catch her eyes, but she avoids me. I lift my hand and touch my fingers gently to her chin, tilting her face up.
“I want you to stay,” I tell her honestly. “I don’t want you to sell the ranch.” Her lips press into a thin line and her eyes start to gloss over. “Look how much you’ve already learned in the few months you’ve been here. You’re doing better than you think. Trust me. It can be worse.”
“But what if this isn’t everything I need?” she asks. My shoulders drop.
Is she talking about me? The ranch? The life she’s built here? I know she doesn’t get out much, doesn’t know many people beyond these gates, but it never seemed to bother her before.
“What else do you need?” I ask, trying to understand what she’s really telling me.
She shakes her head and turns away, making my hand falls back to my side. I watch her take a few steps, putting distance between us. For the first time, I feel like I’m actually losing her.
“I just need time to think,” she says softly.
She keeps walking, eyes on the ground again. I stand there until she’s too far to call back without shouting, then head back to the barn. I brace my hands on the tool cabinet, close my eyes, and drop my head between my arms.
I want to drive into town right now, find Mr. Jenkins, and tell him to stay the hell away from the ranch—from Ever.
I want to threaten him for complicating everything, for making her doubt herself when she was finally starting to believe in this place.
But that would be overstepping. Ever has to make her own choices.
She’s more than capable. I know that. Still, I need help.
I find Jesse in the chicken yard, cleaning out the coops.
I cross my arms and watch him work for a minute.
He glances over a couple of times, waiting, but I haven’t decided if what I’m about to ask is the right move.
I know one way to help Ever clear her head, to get her out of this spiral, and for once it doesn’t involve me making her angry or frustrated.
It involves someone else taking some of the weight off.
“Do you need something, man?” Jesse finally asks.
I shift my weight. “Did you ever get Marissa’s number? Ever’s friend that came to visit?”
“Who, me?” he asks playfully.
I roll my eyes. “I know there was something between you two. I’m not dumb. Did you get her number or not?”
He leans on the knob of the shovel, casual but clearly suspicious. “Why do you want it?” He gives me a long look. “Cause I ain’t giving it to you if you’re already moving on from Ever.”
“I just need to talk to her,” I snap quietly, trying to reel in the frustration. “Do you have it or not, man? I don’t have all day.”
“Yeah, I got it.” He pulls his phone from his back pocket, taps the screen a few times, and a second later my phone buzzes.
“Thanks.” I open the message. Marissa’s contact card pops up with a message underneath: Fuck around and find out.
I glare at him as I save the number. “Real mature.”
“I’m serious, Toby. If you try anything—”
I throw my hand up, middle finger extended, and shake my head as I turn away. I tap Marissa’s name and hold the phone to my ear. It rings three times, then cuts off. I call again. Same thing—short ring, straight to silence.
I type a quick message: It’s Tobias. Need to talk about Ever.
My phone rings immediately.
“Mr. Macho Man?” Marissa answers.
I scoff. “Yeah.”
“Is everything okay? What happened? Is Ever okay?”
“She’s fine,” I say, though the words feel thin. I’m not sure I believe them myself right now. “She’s… on a walk.”
“On a walk,” she repeats slowly. “Did you two have your first couples argument? What’d you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I say defensively.
She lets out a short “mhm.”
“There’s this lawyer—” I start.
“Ugh. Mr. Jenkins?” she cuts in with a groan.
My steps falter. “She told you about him?”
“Yeah. He’s been emailing and calling her nonstop, trying to get her to sell to his son-in-law or something. Apparently the guy’s this rich rancher who inherited all his money.”
“Robby,” I confirm. It’s a shame someone like him has so much pull in a town this small.
“You know him?” Marissa asks.
“I might have broken his nose back in the day,” I admit.
She chuckles softly. “Any chance you can do that again?”
“He’s got too much sway with the local government for that,” I tell her. A moment of silence passes by like she’s questioning my statement without speaking. “It’s a small town. Things like this actually happen here.”
“That’s crazy,” she mutters.
I spot Ever in the distance, sitting under the oak tree. The oak tree. The one I avoid whenever possible.
“So did he make another offer?” Marissa asks.
“I’m assuming so. He came to the ranch to talk to her, and now she’s… I don’t know. I think she might actually be considering whatever he said.”
A pause stretches on the line. “So what do you want me to do about it?”
I don’t have a clean answer. If Marissa talks to her, will she convince Ever to pack up and move back to Chicago? Or will she convince her to stay?
“You obviously want her to stay there, right?” Marissa asks when I don’t answer.
“Yeah,” I admit quietly. If Ever left now, I’m not sure what that would do to me. “But if she doesn’t want to, I don’t really have a choice. I just want her to not feel like she’s lost.”
“Why not just do what you always do?” she asks. “Say something dumb to get her mad at you. Or turn on the charm and get her into your bed.”
I huff out a breath. “I don’t think that’ll work this time.”
“Just smile, then,” she says. “That always works.”
I pinch my eyes closed for a second. Smile? That’s it? Surely it would take more than that to reach her right now. But maybe Marissa knows something I don’t. She’s been inside Ever’s head longer than I have.
“Will you just call her?” I ask. “See what she’s thinking?”
There’s a long pause on her end, one that makes me debate everything I’m asking. “I can’t promise I won’t try to convince her to come back to me.”
I stare down at my boots, scuffing the toe against the dirt. “I know.”
“But you’re asking anyway.”
“Yeah,” I admit. “She needs a friend right now. Someone who knows her inside and out. I can’t give her that—not the way you can.”
“Tobias,” she says, softer this time. I hum in response, throat tight. “She really likes you. I hope you know that.”
“But what if she needs more than this?” I ask, repeating the question that’s been clawing at me since Ever walked away. “What if this life—the ranch, the quiet—isn’t enough to keep her here?”
“What if she just needs you?” she offers back.
My chest aches at the words. I want her to want me. I want her to need me. But the doubt keeps circling: what if the ranch, this small-town life, starts to feel like a cage to her? What if she wakes up one day and realizes she’s traded Chicago for something that doesn’t fit?
“By the way,” Marissa says suddenly, breaking the quiet. “What’s your middle name?”
I blink. “Why?”
“Just in case I need to put out a search warrant for you someday,” she teases.
I scoff, but my mind is already turning. Does she know the story of T.J.? And if she does, should she be the first to know? I hesitate, knowing this can change everything.
“It’s Jeremy,” I tell her softly.
She gasps—quick and sharp. I glance up the hill again. Ever’s still under the oak tree, head down on her arms, completely shut off from the world.
“Just try to smile at her, will ya?” Marissa says. “It’s surprisingly disarming.”
I let out a small grin despite myself. “Thanks, Marissa.” She sighs like she’s swooning. These girls.
“Call her, will ya?” I say. “She needs it.”
“I will as soon as you hang up.”
I pull the phone away from my ear. “Bye.”
I end the call and tap it against my hand.
My eyes stay locked on Ever. She’s still curled in on herself, small against the wide green behind her.
Then her body straightens. She reaches into her back pocket, pulls out her phone, and rests it on her arm.
She lays her cheek against her shoulder as she speaks into it.
I watch for a minute, then her head lifts and her eyes turn directly to me.
My heart thuds hard as I hold her gaze across the distance. I wonder if Marissa will tell her about my middle name. I wonder if she’ll connect it to the boy she used to know. All I can do now is wait.